The name may also be seen spelt as Mariy-El or Marii-El. In Mari it is also known as Marintasvalta 'Mari Republic'. The Mari were formerly known as the Cheremiss.

The area was ruled by the Khazars from the eighth century, the Bulgars from the ninth, the Golden Horde from 1236, and Russia from 1552. It became autonomous in 1920 and an ASSR in 1936. The presidents since the end of the Soviet Union have been

The flag is a horizontal tricolor of light blue, white, and red, the white stripe wider, with in darker red on the white, and shifted towards the hoist, a geometrical sun symbol above the name (in Cyrillic) MARIY EL. The flag is unusual in that this device is not repeated on the reverse, which is the plain tricolor.